Mary Anne Franks, J.D., D.Phil

Bio

Dr. Mary Anne Franks, J.D., D.Phil., is the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor in Intellectual Property, Technology, and Civil Rights Law at George Washington Law School. She is an internationally recognized expert on the intersection of civil rights, free speech, and technology. In 2013, she drafted the first model criminal statute on nonconsensual distribution of intimate images in the U.S., which has been used as the template for multiple state and federal laws on the issue. She served as the reporter for the Uniform Law Commission’s 2018 Uniform Civil Remedies for the Unauthorized Disclosure of Intimate Images Act and frequently advises state and federal legislators on image-based sexual abuse and other technology-facilitated harms, including abuses involving AI and digital manipulation (sometimes referred to as “deepfakes”). Dr. Franks also advises several major technology platforms on privacy, free expression, and safety issues. She holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School as well as a doctorate and a master’s degree from Oxford University, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. She is an Affiliate Fellow of the Yale Law School Information Society Project and a member of the District of Columbia bar.